In the preliminary September read, New Zealand ANZ Business confidence rose to -6.8, up from August’s -14.2. Own Activity outlook dropped to 18.2, down from 19.2. Looking at some more details, export intentions dropped from 7.4 to 5.7. Investment intentions dropped from 14.4 to 12.2. Employment intentions dropped from 17.0 to 14.7. Inflation expectations ticked lower from 3.05 to 2.97.
ANZ said the report showed “resilience” despite lockdown in Auckland, with most forward-looking activity indicators holding up well. ANZ said, “We examined a split between Auckland and the rest of the country but the differences were very small.”
“Overall, the preliminary ANZ Business Outlook results suggest that firms can see light at the end of the tunnel, even in Auckland. We can do this, it said”.
